A SAD END

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Stanley
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A SAD END

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A SAD END

A friend of mine, a senior American academic, has commented that I may be risking the ire of the anti-blood sports brigade by advocating ferret keeping. If this is true I'm sorry, not because I have upset them but because I feel pity for them. They are the people who see animals as pets and overfeed them. I see them as friends and companions, personalities in their own right. They've also missed the delights of a well made rabbit stew.... Carnivores of the world unite! I was going to go on to other tales but have decided to pull on your heart strings with the sad story of Winnie and his untimely end.
I was in the Hole in the Wall at Foulridge one evening and got into conversation with a fine looking young man, a stranger to me. It transpired that he was the new village bobby and in those far off days of proper community policing he had moved into a small house near the pub. He was a city boy but had always fancied taking an interest in field sports. It so happened that this was at a time when I had just started cattle wagon driving and was no longer free to roam in the evenings, Winnie was short of exercise and getting fat. I liked the bloke and made a decision. I told him that if he promised to run Winnie and take care of him I'd give him the ferret, the hutch and all the nets, everything he needed to get started. He was delighted, bit my hand off and a few days later Winnie was installed in his outhouse and he could handle him.
It was one of the worst decisions I ever made in my life. A few weeks later I was passing through Foulridge and popped into the back yard to see how Winnie was going on. There was nobody about so I opened the hutch and found him laid stiff and cold, as dead as a doornail. He had starved to death. I quietly shut the door on him, walked away and never said a word about it. I can't tell you how sad and angry I was but it was my own fault. I had taken the easy way to end my responsibility for Winnie and it killed him.
That's something else the anti blood sports brigade don't understand. There is something noble in keeping an animal as a companion and sharing their life. That's why I always advocate the close proximity of kids and animals and helping them to learn about the responsible bond that can develop. Farmers have this affinity with their stock even though they rear them to be killed but it is impossible to explain this, it can only be learned through experience. I've never regretted Winnie, only his end. Who knows, there might be another ferret in me even at this late stage in the game! I mean, if I can get along with Black Jack.....

Image

The old man's current companion.
Stanley Challenger Graham
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"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
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Stanley
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Re: A SAD END

Post by Stanley »

I'm still angry about the demise of Winnie all these years after.
But I have one more ferret related story for you. In 2001 I was invited to a BBC boot Camp in Wales on producing short films using computers. While I was there I met a man and his Harris Hawk, Freya. He told me he flew his hawk to catch rabbits, he bolted them with ferrets and the hawk picked them up. I asked him what sort of ferrets he used and he said white albino ferrets, any other colour like a polecat and the hawk killed them!
So there's a bit of essential knowledge for you and you read it here first! Never go hawking using polecat ferrets, always use albinos.
Stanley Challenger Graham
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scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
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Stanley
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Re: A SAD END

Post by Stanley »

Bumped again, still a sad story...... My argument for keeping animals still stands.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
User avatar
Stanley
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Joined: 23 Jan 2012, 12:01
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Re: A SAD END

Post by Stanley »

I have given up keeping a pet animal after Jack's death. I have enough on looking after myself! Life is easier but I miss the companionship.....
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
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